Just Leave
by Slasher111
Summary: She strongly believed that heartbreak should be dealt alone. She didn't want people to see her weak and broken. Kaoru thought she made that fact clear to everyone. So, why was it that this arrogant & persistent red-head always shows up in her front door?


**Just Leave!**  
><strong>A Rurouni Kenshin Fanfiction<strong>

Summary: She strongly believed that heartbreak should be dealt alone. She didn't want people to see her weak and broken. Kaoru thought she made that fact clear to everyone. So, why was it that this arrogant and persistent red-headed brat always shows up in her front door? KK, AU.

**Chapter 1: There She Goes**

As she lifted her hand up and examined the glinting engagement ring, all she could think of was the probable price she could sell the said piece of jewellery for. After all, her ex-fiancé was far from being a stingy man. He probably bought the ring for a handsome value. Perhaps, she could auction it on ebay? And just lie about its origin and history. _I could probably say I just bought it on impulse from a random store. Liked it then, don't like it now, so why not sell it?_

"Yeah, right..." She mumbled to herself as she submerged her head in the tub water in an effort to clear away her thoughts. Her hair, a dark shade of midnight blue, looked like large spider legs under the water.

The skin on her hands had already turned wrinkly and the water cold moments ago. And yet, she still didn't want to get up. Funny, it seems that the bathtub she rarely used before had now become her comfort zone, the only place where she can immerse herself in the whirlwind of emotions she was feeling. She told everyone that she would be okay, that she could move on and forget about that stupid, stupid event that she wanted to erase from her life. She lied.

"I hate you so much!", she shouted. Her trembling voice vibrated throughout the bathroom. Angry tears burst forth from her eyes. She cried, sobbed and poured out her heart. Raw emotions and tears, the only witness was none but herself. She was lying to everyone, even to herself. She didn't feel fine. It happened more than a month ago and yet, she was far from okay. She could not even throw the stupid ring away from her life, that remaining reminder of her stupidity.

Kamiya Kaoru simply could not. Doing so would mean throwing out a part of her past. She just didn't want to forget.

Then, her lack-luster azure eyes fell to the pair of silver scissors on sink.

...

"So, it's true then? The Kamiya girl from the other department got jilted by her fiancé on her wedding day?"

"Well, not exactly. I heard that the wedding was supposed to be days away when the guy backed out."

"Must have really hurt her..."

"Duh! And a real embarrassment! I heard that everything had been prepared. Invitations to relatives and stuff. She even turned down the promotion because she would get married! What a shame!"

"Wow. And here I thought that those things only happen in movies."

"EHEM."

Himura Kenshin cleared his thought and looked expectantly at the two on-the-job trainees of the department. Lunch break was over half an hour ago and the two girls seemed to not notice that.

After hearing the red-head, the girls scurried back to their tables and mumbled apologies.

"Here, the boss wanted all of these to be encoded in the system." Kenshin handed them the stacks of folders he was holding. From the looks of the two, he was sure they weren't so happy. "Be sure to finish them before you go home." he added then left. Gossiping girls irked him but there was nothing that can be done as it was a fact of life.

As he walked back to his station and slumped against his leather work chair, he sighed and gently massaged his forehead. He really was not in a good mood. Folders and documents were stacked in front of him and a bunch of yellow colored stick-ons were posted at the walls of work station. He turned the computer on and tried to type the urgent proposal that was to be due in three days.

His cellphone vibrated and he dug for it in his pocket.

**REMINDER 1: 3PM Meeting with Management**

**REMINDER 2: 4PM Telecon with Mr. Takahashi**

**REMINDER 3: 5PM Deadline of Feasibility Plan**

"Crap." He said to himself.

Such was life in their company. Work was quite toxic so it was no wonder that even their OJTs would rather gossip than do their task. Looking back, he wondered if he also came of as an annoying trainee to his higher ups when he was started out in the company. Kenshin had been working as a Junior Executive close to a year now, but started out as an OJT here. Compensation was pretty much competitive compared to others and his career here had been great so far, except for times like this when the department is struggling to meet its quota before the year ends. In all honesty, working for SEIKA CORPORATION was a fun experience for him until **she **filed for vacation leave roughly two months ago.

There was a subtle softness in his eyes as he turned to look at the workstation on the far right side of their department. It was that woman's table. Clear of any piles of papers and documents, it looked neat and empty.

Empty, it had been for almost two months, which means that he hadn't seen his partner for that long. He didn't know what to make of that realization. He grabbed his cellphone and started searching for her house number. He wanted to press the call button but hesitated.

For a moment, his eyes couldn't help but stare at Kaoru's number on his phone. The gossip that had been going around in the office is a testament to how real Kaoru's situation was. Being jilted by her fiancé was no laughing matter. That rumor started circulating a week ago when Kara, the self-proclaimed gossip-girl of SEIKA Corporation, told someone from their department that she heard from a neighbor of Kaoru's, which happened to be her cousin, that Kaoru had told her herself that the wedding had been called off.

Kaoru did have friends in their office but her closest were from the other department. They displayed their loyalty and remained tight-lipped about the situation. No one wanted to neither confirm nor deny, but Kara had assured everyone that the rumor was a hundred and one percent true.

And when Kaoru didn't show up in the office days after her approved vacation leave was offer, the rumor was declared not a mere rumor but a "news", which meant that what the people in the company were gossiping about was undoubtedly, absolutely true. And boy, did it spread like wildfire in Seika Corporation.

Kenshin tore his gaze away from Kaoru's spot and looked at his watch. 2:05PM. Four hours more until his shift ends. From his slumped position, he sat up straight and scanned his desk looking for a piece of paper where he had written an important information. A small smile graced his lips as he spotted and read his lazy scribble on it.

It was Kamiya Kaoru's home address.

_I guess I'll be seeing you later, Kaoru-chan._

End of Chapter 1

Author's Notes: I'm alive, again! After a loooong time of hiatus, I am finally back. It feels good to write a story again :) So how was it? Please do review!


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